“Mutability” and “A Defence of Poetry” by Percy Bysshe Shelley — Quiz
Question 5 • British Literature and Composition
Read the fourth stanza from "Mutability.” It is the same!—For, be it joy or sorrow, The path of its departure still is free: Man’s yesterday may ne’er be like his morrow; Nought may endure but Mutability. Which best states the idea conveyed in the last line of this stanza?
Answer
A
Time heals even the very worst of sorrows.
B
Nothing in this world is worth holding on to.
C
Change is the only thing that is eternal.
D
Each day is a fleeting and precious gift.
Explanation
The stanza says that joy and sorrow both pass, and that a person’s yesterday will never be exactly like tomorrow. “Nought may endure but Mutability” means that nothing lasts except change itself. So the best choice is “Change is the only thing that is eternal.”
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